9. Free Will and Destiny
9. 自由意志與命運

Personal Will
個人意志

The power an individual is acquainted with is the power of his free will — or he arrives to experience that his free will is clashing against the free will of another individual. Then he begins to see the clashing between the free will of two persons. If he happens to be powerful he gets the better of the situation; if the other happens to be more powerful then the other gets the better of it. And when they come to think about destiny the one who is slow in believing will say, “I do not know…” but a man with some belief in things of the abstract will say that there is a destiny. He has every proof to convince himself of it.

一個人所熟悉的力量，就是他自身自由意志的力量；直到有一天，他體驗到自己的自由意志與另一個人的自由意志發生衝突。於是，他開始看見兩個人的自由意志彼此碰撞。如果他恰好較有力量，便能在這種局面中占上風；如果對方的力量較強，則是對方占上風。當人們開始思考命運時，一個不容易相信的人會說：「我不知道……」但對抽象事物多少有所相信的人，則會說命運確實存在。他會發現種種證據，足以使自己相信這一點。

There are many clever and qualified people in business, in professions, in politics, but their cleverness or qualification is not always the reason why they are successful. Very often we will find that a simple person, a person lacking cleverness or lacking qualification is successful. It is not always the rule but very often it is so: a most innocent person in a very high position, and a most clever person perhaps working as his waiter. People in high offices may have a secretary who knows more than they themselves — if not always, very often. And when we ask, “Why does that person stand here with all his cleverness while the other sits in the chair of honor? What is the reason?” The answer is that destiny is working behind it all, fixing them and adjusting them in their places. There is a saying in the East: “The feet of the infant are to be seen from its cradle.” In other words, what it is going to be you can see from the cradle; it shows signs which promise its future.

在商業、各種專業領域與政治界中，有許多聰明而具備才能的人，但他們的聰明才智或專業能力，並不總是成功的原因。我們常常會發現，一個單純的人，一個不那麼聰明或缺乏專業能力的人，反而獲得了成功。這並非永遠如此，卻經常如此：一個十分天真的人身居高位，而一個極其聰明的人，也許反而在為他侍候。身居高位的人可能有一位秘書，懂得比他本人還多；即使不是總是如此，也常常如此。於是我們會問：「為什麼這個人如此聰明，卻只能站在這裡；另一個人反而坐在尊位上？原因究竟是什麼？」答案是：命運在這一切的背後運作，把每個人安置、調整到各自的位置。東方有一句諺語：「嬰兒的腳，從搖籃裡就看得出來。」換句話說，一個人將來會成為什麼樣子，從搖籃時便已可看出端倪；那時便會顯露出預示其未來的跡象。

Divine Will
神聖意志

Then the question arises, “Is destiny the will of God?” And the answer is that in a sense the perfect will of God is that which the godly perceive in its fullness. If it were not so the hint in the Bible, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” would have no meaning. It does not say, “Thy will is being done on earth as it is in heaven.” If this was so it would point to destiny, but it is the work of destiny and free will to come in connection in order to fulfill the will of God. It is free will and destiny, the two coming together, which bring about the will of God: but free will in its perfect state, in its fuller meaning.

於是便產生了一個問題：「命運就是神的意志嗎？」答案是：從某種意義上說，神圓滿的意志，是那些與神相應之人能夠完整領會的意志。若非如此，《聖經》中「願祢的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上」這句話便沒有意義。它並不是說：「祢的旨意正在地上成就，如同在天上一樣。」如果是這樣，那麼它所指的便只是命運；然而，命運與自由意志必須彼此連結，才能成就神的意志。正是自由意志與命運兩者相合，才使神的意志得以實現；但這裡所說的，是處於圓滿狀態、具有更完整意義的自由意志。

A man arranges something in life, then conditions oppose it. In that case either the will, the will of God, is in that man, or the will is in the conditions. In the end, when one of these opposing forces will fail and one conquer, then the will of God is fulfilled; or when these two different aspects of will work harmoniously then the will of God is fulfilled. There is a Persian saying, “When two hearts become one they can remove mountains.” In other words, when the will of one person and the free will of the other person become one, in other words harmonious, then they become a phenomenon; it works like magic. But when they do not work harmoniously then the will that is done is not the will of God, it is destiny.

一個人在生命中安排了一件事，隨後外在條件卻與之相抗。在這種情況下，神的意志可能在這個人的意志之中，也可能存在於那些外在條件之中。最後，當彼此對立的力量有一方退敗、另一方勝出時，神的意志便得以成就；或者，當這兩種不同面向的意志和諧地共同運作時，神的意志也得以成就。有一句波斯諺語說：「當兩顆心合而為一，便能移山。」換句話說，當一個人的意志與另一個人的自由意志合而為一，也就是彼此和諧時，便會產生非凡的力量；它運作起來宛如魔法。然而，當兩者不能和諧運作時，最終所成就的並不是神的意志，而是命運。

I will give you a small example. A nice lady had a new maid. In order to entertain a friend, who was coming to visit her, she asked the maid to go and buy a beautiful bouquet of flowers. When the maid went out and asked the price of the bouquet at the florist’s, she thought, “How extraordinary on the part of my lady to spend all that money on this. I wish she would have asked me something else to do.” Instead of doing what the lady had asked her she went and bought some cheese sandwiches, and was delighted in her heart thinking, “When I bring these to my lady she will be very pleased.” When the lady saw what the maid had bought she was horrified. While she had expected that her friend would be entertained with flowers, there were cheese sandwiches!

我舉一個小例子。有一位和善的女士新雇了一名女僕。為了招待一位即將來訪的朋友，她請女僕去買一束美麗的花。女僕出門後，在花店問了花束的價錢，心想：「我的女主人竟然要花這麼多錢買這個，真令人難以理解。我真希望她叫我去做別的事。」她沒有照女主人的吩咐去做，反而跑去買了一些起司三明治，心裡還十分得意地想：「我把這些帶回去，女主人一定會非常高興。」女主人看到她買回來的東西時，簡直嚇壞了。她原本打算用鮮花來迎接朋友，結果出現在眼前的卻是起司三明治！

This will make you understand more fully that hint in the Bible, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” What man always does out of his will is not always divine will. The divine will is done when man is in contact with the divine Spirit in himself — it is then that he begins to understand the meaning of the divine will.

這個例子能使你更充分理解《聖經》中那句話的含義：「願祢的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上。」人依照自己的意志所做的事，並不一定就是神聖意志。唯有人與自身內在的神聖之靈相接時，神聖意志才得以成就；也只有到了那時，他才開始明白神聖意志真正的意義。

Three Paths
三條道路

Those who persevere in the path of power are persons of three kinds:

在力量之道上堅持前行的人，可以分為三種：

• the one whose way is uphill
  
  第一種人的道路是上坡之道。

• and the other whose way is downhill — both arriving at the same end, the first perhaps with greater, the other with less difficulty.
  
  第二種人的道路是下坡之道；兩者最終都會抵達同一個終點，只是前者或許較為艱難，後者較為容易。

• The third has the most difficult way, for it is neither upwards nor downwards; it may be called the way of the cross.
  
  第三種人的道路最為艱難，因為它既不上行，也不下行；我們可以稱它為十字架之道。

The Master
大師

The uphill way is the way where a person thinks, “I must have it, I must accomplish it.” He spares no effort, no thought, no energy, nothing! He goes after it, in its pursuit till he has obtained it. This is the uphill way, because climbing to the heights of the mountain every step is very difficult and very tiresome. But if his patience helps him, if he continues to persevere, in the end no doubt he arrives at the top of the mountain. This may be seen in great or in small things. If a child tries to make a toy out of wax, and he cannot make it the first time and tries another time without accomplishing it, and the third time, after a week, makes the toy he wanted to make, he has really accomplished something. But if after having tried to make it twice he thinks, “Oh no, I cannot make it,” he has failed. This path of course is a path of continual struggle.

上坡之道，是一個人如此想：「我一定要得到它，我一定要完成它。」他不惜任何努力、任何心思、任何精力，一切都毫不保留！他不斷追求，直到真正得到自己所追求的。這就是上坡之道，因為攀登高山，每一步都十分艱難，也十分耗費力氣。然而，如果耐性能夠支持他，如果他持續堅持下去，最後毫無疑問會抵達山頂。無論大事小事，都可以看見這個道理。如果一個孩子試著用蠟做一個玩具，第一次沒有成功，第二次再試仍然做不出來，到了第三次，在一星期之後，終於做出了自己想要的玩具，那麼他確實成就了一件事。但如果試了兩次之後，他便想：「不行，我做不到。」那麼他就失敗了。因此，這條道路自然是一條不斷奮鬥的道路。

I do not wish to bring into this the right and wrong of the motive, or the good and bad of the striving of a person, because that would take us to the subject of morals which we shall not touch just now. No matter what a person is striving for, if he perseveres continually without fall, he is coming closer and closer to the will of God.

我在這裡並不打算討論一個人的動機是對是錯，或他的努力是善是惡，因為那會把我們帶到道德的問題，而這並不是我們現在要談的主題。無論一個人正在為什麼而努力，只要他持續不懈、不曾退卻，他便會愈來愈接近神的意志。

The Saint
聖者

Then there is the one who says, “Well, I will be resigned. What will be will be, what will come will come. I am ready to face it, I am ready to take it as it comes. If it happens that I should give I shall give, if it happens that I should take I shall take. Whether it is agreeable to me or not agreeable, whatever is coming, whatever conditions will offer, I will take all that life gives.” This is the downhill way; it asks little effort, just like coming down from the top of a hill does not tire one so much.

另一種人會說：「好吧，我願意順受。該發生的就讓它發生，該來的就讓它來。我已準備好面對它，也準備好接受一切如其所來。如果情勢需要我給予，我就給予；如果情勢需要我接受，我就接受。不論我喜歡或不喜歡，無論什麼來到眼前，無論環境帶來什麼，我都接受生命所給予的一切。」這就是下坡之道；它所需要付出的力氣較少，就像從山頂往下走，不會使人那麼疲累。

Nevertheless, the one way is not more difficult than the other. It only depends on what temperament a person is born with. There is the persevering one who will go on striving against all difficulties; for him to go downhill is difficult, for him to renounce, to sacrifice is difficult. He is born with the spirit of attainment, he will go upwards in spite of all difficulties. If he lost his life it would not matter, he will go on in this path. And there is the other one who is born with renunciation. He will be content with all that comes, he is in harmony with conditions, he is in peace with people. Whether they treat him rightly or wrongly he will take it all peacefully, harmoniously, and in the end he will arrive at the same goal, in touch with the divine will.

然而，這兩條道路並沒有哪一條真正比另一條更困難；一切取決於一個人天生的性情。有一種人具有堅持不懈的性情，無論遭遇多少困難都會繼續奮鬥。對這樣的人來說，走下坡反而很難；要他放下、犧牲，也是困難的。他天生帶著追求成就的靈，無論有多少阻礙，都會向上攀登。即使因此失去生命，他也在所不惜，仍會繼續走這條道路。另一種人則天生具有放下的性情。他會滿足於一切所來，與環境和諧，與人相安。無論別人公正或不公正地對待他，他都能以安寧而和諧的態度接受；最後，他也會抵達同一個目標，與神聖意志相接。

The Prophet
先知

The third way is the way of the cross: it is striving and being resigned at the same time. No doubt that is the most difficult way. The uphill way is the way of the master, the downhill the way of the saint, but the way of the cross is the prophetic way. The prophets, in all ages in whichever part of the world they have come, have striven continually and have been resigned continually to all that comes. On the one hand active, on the other hand passive they progress through life. Therefore their life is being pulled from both sides. When they walk one leg is pulled from the back, the other leg is pulled from the front; there are always two sides to their lives.

第三條道路是十字架之道：一方面奮鬥，一方面同時順受。毫無疑問，這是最困難的道路。上坡之道是大師之道，下坡之道是聖者之道，而十字架之道則是先知之道。歷代以來，無論先知出現在世界哪一個地方，他們始終不斷努力奮鬥，同時也始終順受一切所來。他們一方面主動，另一方面被動，就這樣在人生中前行。因此，他們的生命總是同時受到兩股力量的牽引。當他們行走時，一條腿彷彿被向後拉，另一條腿則被向前拉；他們的生命始終具有這兩個面向。

At the same time either of these qualities can be found in each person as a temperament, and the secret of one’s life’s success and the fulfillment of one’s life’s purpose lie in taking one’s natural way. If it happens that a man is born with a quality of striving continually, his way is striving. He must not be passive, he must not be resigned, for if he does so he will fall and not accomplish his life’s purpose. But if it happens to be his temperament that he is resigned, always resigned to all that comes, then he must take that way. There is nobility of spirit, of soul, in both these ways. But if unfortunately it happens that a person is born with these two qualities at the same time, his problem in life will be the most difficult, for he can neither do one thing nor the other. No doubt if he goes on in this way, in the end there is success, but success in the spiritual sense, not in a material sense.

同時，每個人的天性中，都可能具有其中一種特質；而人生能否成功、生命目的能否實現，其祕訣就在於走上符合自己天性的道路。如果一個人天生具有不斷奮鬥的特質，那麼奮鬥就是他的道路。他不應消極，也不應採取順受的態度；若是如此，他反而會跌倒，無法實現生命的目的。然而，如果一個人的天性就是順受，總能順受一切所來，那麼他便應當走這條道路。這兩條道路都具有靈與靈魂的高貴。然而，如果一個人生來同時具有這兩種特質，他在人生中所面對的問題就會最為艱難，因為他既無法完全走這一條，也無法完全走另一條。毫無疑問，如果他能如此繼續走下去，最後仍會有所成就；但那是靈性意義上的成就，而不是物質意義上的成功。

Destiny works consciously

命運有意識地運作

Now the question arises whether destiny is working blindly, or whether it is working intelligently, consciously. Is it working with wisdom? The answer is that to some extent it is always working more or less consciously, but at the same time in its different ways of working its condition is different.

現在又產生了一個問題：命運究竟是盲目地運作，還是具有智慧、有意識地運作？它的運作之中是否存在智慧？答案是，在某種程度上，命運始終或多或少具有意識；然而，在不同的運作方式中，它所呈現的意識狀態也有所不同。

• For instance, a person has the habit of getting up at night while still asleep; he walks in the room and knocks against the door or the wall because his eyes are closed. That is one way of moving about in the room.
  
  譬如，有一個人習慣在夜裡仍處於睡眠時起身夢遊；他在房間裡走動，因為眼睛閉著，便撞上門或牆壁。這是在房間裡走動的一種方式。

• There is another way: a person is thinking of his poetry, he does not know where he is going, whether to a corner of the room or to one or an other side; his mind is thinking of the poetry. He is walking but does not know towards what he is walking. His walking has a meaning, and has not a meaning. His walking at that time is a stimulus to his inspiration; it helps him, but it is not conscious walking. Yet he knows that he is walking.
  
  還有另一種情形：一個人正在構思詩作，他不知道自己正走向哪裡，是走向房間的一角，還是走向另一邊；他的頭腦全在想著詩。他雖然正在走路，卻不知道自己正走向何處。他的行走既有意義，又可以說沒有意義。此時的走動刺激著他的靈感，對他有所幫助，但這並不是有意識的行走；然而，他知道自己正在走路。

• And there is a third condition: when a person intentionally goes into a certain corner of the room in order to fetch something; he has a purpose in going there.
  
  第三種情形則是，一個人有意走到房間某個角落，為了拿取某樣東西；他走到那裡有一個明確的目的。

Destiny works in these ways; the nature of life, of the whole of life, can be understood by studying the nature of man.

命運正是以這些方式運作；透過研究人的本性，我們便能理解生命的本質，乃至整個生命的本質。

Q & A

問與答

Question: Is destiny working sometimes blindly, like the man walking in his sleep?

問：命運有時也會像夢遊的人一樣，盲目地運作嗎？

Answer: It is for a demonstration that I have tried to put something in words which cannot be put in words. If I were to say that there are only seven notes I would be wrong, and still I would be right too, because there are seven accepted notes. But the gap between each note can be filled, if we distinguish them clearly, by perhaps five, six notes — or more or less. So what we call “blindly” is according to our perception of blindness. When we see this according to the idea of the Absolute, as the one and whole Being, then we cannot say that it is working blindly or unconsciously. It is what it is; it may show its work in different stages of consciousness, but it cannot be blind, it is still conscious. There is still a wisdom behind it, but not that wisdom which we understand as wisdom.

答：為了說明，我試著用語言表達一件其實無法真正以語言表達的事。如果我說只有七個音，我是錯的，但同時也可以說是對的，因為我們所公認的基本音確實有七個。然而，如果仔細區分，每兩個音之間的空隙還可以填入五、六個音，或多或少。因此，我們所說的「盲目」，其實只是依照我們自己對盲目的理解而言。當我們從「絕對者」的觀點來看，把祂視為唯一而完整的存在時，我們便不能說祂是在盲目或無意識地運作。祂就是祂所是；祂的運作可能呈現出不同程度的意識狀態，但祂不可能是盲目的，祂仍然具有意識。其背後依然存在著智慧，只是那並不是我們通常所理解的那種智慧。

For instance, a person walked in his sleep in his room while a thief was trying to take something out of his cupboard, and in his sleep he fell on the thief who then ran away, fearing that the man had got up. Here a purpose is fulfilled without intention. His walking in his sleep accomplished something, although the person did not walk in his sleep in order to fall upon the thief. So all things that happen, whether we understand the meaning or not, have their purpose and by that something is accomplished. Perhaps we know it at that moment, or perhaps we shall know it afterwards.

譬如，一個人在房間裡夢遊，正巧有個小偷企圖從他的櫃子裡偷東西；他在睡夢中撞上了小偷，小偷以為他醒了，嚇得立刻逃走。這裡，一個目的在毫無意圖的情況下被完成了。這個人的夢遊成就了某件事，儘管他夢遊的目的並不是為了撞上那個小偷。因此，所有發生的事情，無論我們是否理解其中的意義，都有其目的，也都藉此成就了某些事情。我們也許當下便能明白，也許要到日後才會明白。

Question: What is the distinction between inertia and the disposition you have characterized as the second path?

問：惰性與你所描述的第二條道路所具有的性情，有什麼區別？

Answer: Inertia could be understood as a kind of weakness, but this path is a kind of strength. It is a very strong person who can resign; a person who can sacrifice, tolerate and resign is not always a weak person. Yes, it is possible that a weak person out of weakness may tolerate, may sacrifice and may be resigned, but his feeling at doing so is different from that of the brave and courageous soul.

答：惰性可以被理解為一種軟弱，但這條道路卻是一種力量。能夠順受的人，其實是非常有力量的人；一個能夠犧牲、忍受並順受的人，並不一定是弱者。的確，一個軟弱的人也可能因為自身的軟弱而忍受、犧牲與順受，但他在這麼做時內在的感受，與一個勇敢而有勇氣的靈魂截然不同。

The person whose character I described as saint shows the greatest bravery one could show. Is he not brave who patiently takes all things which trouble him, which hurt him, which torture his life, who suffers and endures all? A weak person will give an outlet to these things. For instance there is an artist whose art is not appreciated, who has no place in the world of art, and for some days he has to remain without a penny. If he busies himself in his studio, still working with no bread and butter in the house to eat and if he does not speak about it to anybody, is he not courageous? Is he not brave? Is he not noble? Is this weakness? No, the one who lacks these qualities would go out and say, “Look at me, in what condition I am! ” That would be different. There is great strength in a person who can take all things with resignation.

我所描述的聖者，展現的是一個人所能展現的最大勇氣。一個人能夠耐心承受所有使他困擾、傷害他、折磨其生命的事，能夠受苦並忍耐這一切，難道他不勇敢嗎？軟弱的人反而會設法把這些痛苦宣洩出去。譬如，有一位藝術家，他的藝術不受賞識，在藝術界也沒有自己的位置，甚至一連幾天身無分文。如果他仍在自己的工作室裡專心創作，即使家裡連麵包奶油都沒有，卻從不向任何人訴說自己的處境，難道他沒有勇氣嗎？他不勇敢嗎？他不高貴嗎？這會是軟弱嗎？不。缺乏這些品質的人，反而會跑出去對人說：「看看我吧！看看我現在落到什麼境地！」那便完全不同了。能夠以順受之心承接一切的人，內在具有極大的力量。

Question: In the end, looking at the events when they have happened, must we not say that all is done according to the will of God?

問：當事情最終都已發生，再回頭去看時，我們是否應該說，一切都是依照神的意志而發生的？

Answer: Well, that is a Sufi way: begin with free will and finish with the will of God. The only consolation when a thing is not done is to interpret is as the will of God.

答：是的，這就是蘇菲之道：從自由意志開始，以神的意志作結。當一件事未能如願完成時，唯一的慰藉，就是將它理解為神的意志。

Question: Is the way of the cross the happy and satisfactory way?

問：十字架之道是一條幸福而令人滿足的道路嗎？

Answer: If it is happy and satisfactory to you, it is. If it is not so, it is not.

答：如果它對你而言是幸福而令人滿足的，它就是；如果不是，那麼它就不是。

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